Counseling and soul care ministry is demanding spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. Counselors face unique challenges with spiritual warfare, emotionally taxing situations, and relational conflict on a weekly basis. This can create some insidious side effects to maintaining overall health, like compassion fatigue, adrenal overload, weariness, and anxiety that can lead to burnout. Continue Reading →
Read More
I have thought a lot about how to help young adults navigate “Christian dating,” courting, or whatever you might call finding a potential person you could marry. This is personal because I have two kids in their 20s and one who is 15 going on 20! It also applies to biblical counseling, as most of us do a lot of marriage counseling with couples who could have avoided so much pain if they had followed a biblical pattern for dating and marriage. So many couples think marriage is about happiness more than holiness. Some are looking for a spouse to fulfill what they have not yet found in Christ. Needless to say, there are days I scratch my head and wonder why the church does not require teens or young adults to go through a class on dating with a biblical worldview—a class that would help singles understand that you either tear up the air-brushed picture of the “perfect soulmate” or you are likely to tear up your spouse trying to achieve it. You either find satisfaction in Christ as your first love, or you will look for love in all the wrong places. Continue Reading →
Read More
According to Scripture, all Christians will go through seasons of spiritual attack (John 15:19-20; 16:2; 1 Pet. 2:21; 2 Tim. 3:12). But as a biblical counselor, you will have a bullseye on your back. The enemy wants to isolate and divide church leaders and the church family as well. This battle will have a direct impact on those you love the most. That is why if you are married, the battle plan is best developed and implemented as a couple. It also applies to singles, but for the sake of our focus, we will emphasize how to fight this battle as spouses together since soul care is a battlefield. Ideally, this plan is shared with trusted confidants who will stand with you and pray for you. I want to outline five steps and a map to implement each step to be most effective in preparing for spiritual warfare in your biblical counseling ministry, building a home life that models what we counsel, and living a life that glorifies God. Continue Reading →
Read More
There has been a growing interest among biblical counselors in critiquing psychiatric diagnoses. While critically examining secular labels is helpful, it is time we redefine mental health from a biblical worldview. This would help us to both develop more robust assessment and care for those coming to us with psychiatric labels. Biblical counseling as a movement has grown to appreciate the struggles of the “mentally ill” but needs to further identify the harmful effects of the ever-growing number of labels and then give a superior biblical diagnostic and treatment plan. Even when physical issues are affecting mood and behavior, we need to help even the most compromised counselee see how their faith and identity in Christ are central to their long-term mental health. Continue Reading →
Read More
When it comes to equipping the saints (Eph. 4:11-12) or leader development, most churches resort to conferences or pointing leaders to books on the subject. Soul care skills are not taught in most seminaries, and most pastors find it to be an area of weakness. That can leave gaps in discipleship and care culture, which widen as churches grow. We end up with too few church staff trying to stay on top of too many struggling sheep. Even if pastors are equipped, they often become the go-to support for too many leaders on the frontlines of ministry. Frontline leaders can feel that those over them are not connected or concerned with their support or development. Creating coaching closes the gap of leader development by training our best leaders to coach others. Continue Reading →
Read More